1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flat plastic toothpick, and more specifically to a plastic sheet having a plurality, e.g. four, flat, somewhat tear-drop shaped, punch out or press out, toothpicks in a sheet of plastic combined with an envelope, preferably made of paper, for carrying the plastic sheet with the press out, somewhat tear-drop shaped toothpicks therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore flat end or flat shaped toothpicks have been proposed. Examples of such analogous and non-analogous toothpicks are disclosed in the following analogous and non-analogous U.S. Patents:
U.S. Pat. No. Patentee 3,978,872 Bond 4,312,370 Hinge 5,119,941 Lepie 5,234,009 Lemon et al. 5,415,276 Welton 5,560,379 Pieczenik 5,693,360 Stern et al. 5,823,208 Lin 5,868,149 Yang
The Bond U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,872 discloses a generally rectangular or square-in-cross-section toothpick having ends which are tapered to a thin bladed end of each end of the toothpick.
The Hinge U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,370 discloses a toothpick comprising an elongated section of thin corrugated plastic material which is curved so that one end defines a projecting point. The plastic material is quite thin to enable the parts of the toothpick to move between adjacent teeth.
The Lepie U.S. Pat. No.5,119,941 discloses a matchbook-shaped structure which includes a plurality of individually packaged dental floss members detachably secured to the matchbook-like structure. Each dental floss member comprises a plurality of rows of individual packages or strands that have gripping ends at each end of the strand and they are joined to adjacent gripping ends via perforations. The plurality of gripping end members are secured to the matchbook-like structure.
The Lemon et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,009 discloses a toothpick which has pointed knife-like tips at opposite ends that curve upwardly and which has sides that taper inwardly to each knife-like tip.
The Welton U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,276 discloses a portable toothpick packet with flat toothpicks in a rectangular perforated wood or plastic sheet. The toothpicks are triangular in shape and the perforations are two diagonal lines in the rectangular sheet.
The Pieczenik U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,379 discloses a dental paper pick and flosser defined by a rectangular sheet of siliconized paper having one diagonal line of perforations to define two flat picks in each sheet of a stack of sheets.
The Stern et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,360 discloses a toothpick and method for the manufacture thereof. The toothpick includes a blade of elastic plastic material which extends outwardly from a thicker, oval shaped base to a thin cleaning tip that curves upwardly.